Apple sets aside $1B for original video content in 2018: Report

‘Carpool Karaoke’ and ‘Planet of the Apps,’ was just the beginning. Apple’s ambitions around original content are much bigger and to realize those dreams, the Cupertino giant has set aside a whopping $1 billion to spend on creating its own programming next year, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Citing people in the know of the things, the report says that Apple could acquire and produce up to 10 shows next year with this money, which will be largely left in the hands of new hires Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg. Erlicht and Van Amburg are former presidents from Sony Pictures Television that moved to Apple in June to oversee video content strategy and production.

Though Apple’s previous shows haven’t been a runaway success receiving hardly any rave reviews, the company is all pumped up and reportedly has a goal of offering content on par with HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ on the company’s streaming offerings.

Apple’s budget may look massive but rival streaming content producers spend a lot on creating their own content. HBO spent about $2 billion on content last year, while Amazon spent around $1 billion in 2013, the year after it leaped into original programming. Netflix, meanwhile, is expected to spend more than $6 billion in 2017, according to The Wall Street Journal.

For Apple, a $1 billion outlay for original entertainment would barely make a dent in its balance sheet: The company reported $261.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and long-term investments as of July 1, 2017.